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Texas Freight Survey Assesses How Well the Transportation System is Serving Businesses

September 15, 2015

Of the establishments surveyed, 39% project an increase in deliveries, and 33% project an increase in inventory.

Researchers at TTI’s Transportation Policy Research Center recently completed the Texas Freight Pilot Survey, in which more than 500 respondents were presented with 12 transportation-related factors and were asked to rank how well the current transportation system is performing across four transportation infrastructures: highways, rail, ports, and border crossings.

Results from the first-time survey identified “infrastructure capacity” as one of the three least satisfying characteristics associated with highway, port and border crossing infrastructure, while “funding” was identified as least satisfying for highway and rail infrastructure, as well as to some extent for border crossings.

Of the establishments surveyed, most anticipate an increase in business activity rather than a decrease. This increased demand coupled with infrastructure capacity and funding challenges could strain a transportation system already struggling to meet the future needs of Texas shippers and carriers.

With respondent sentiment generally hovering between neutral and moderate satisfaction, the analysis suggests that highways are not only the most familiar type of infrastructure, but also the infrastructure type with which respondents are most satisfied. Conversely, not only does the data suggest that border crossings are the least familiar among participants, but also the infrastructure type with which respondents are least satisfied.

Results like these provide information on how the freight network functions for its users, which can help inform project planning and policy making alike. View the full report for more survey results.